Category: Lifestyle

When I first head of the Nintendo Switch console I was very curious about what it could offer. I loved the Nintendo DS and Wii U, so the idea of a hybrid of these two consoles sounded brilliant.

The Nintendo Switch is a portable console, so you can game wherever you’d like to, but it can also easily be played in the comfort of your own home on the TV.

The Switch is a 6.2 inch tablet, with a stunning display. It has two removable joy-con controller, which can be used solo or split for local multiplayer gaming. Since the Nintendo Switch can be played on the tablet or the TV, it comes with the Switch Dock, which charges the device and connects the Switch to the TV. You also get the Joy-Con Grip, which connects the Right and Left Joy-Con controllers together, so you can use them like a traditional controller- which is great for single player Mario Kart! You will also get an HDMI cable and a power cord.

The Switch tablet is touch screen, and I have found the display brilliant for games. You can also use the Switch tablet in table top mode, where you can flip the kick stand up and use it as a mini screen if you don’t want to use it as a hand held device. At 6.2 inches the Switch is very portable, which is what made the console appealing to myself. You can purchase various Nintendo carrying cases for the console to protect it.

Connecting the Switch to the TV is very easy. You simply slide the console into the charging dock until it ‘clicks’ and the display from the console is transferred onto the TV. I love using the TV display for playing multi-player games.

The battery life is acceptable for the Switch. A full charge can give around 3 hours of gaming, which is good enough for commuting or playing around the house. It charges quite quickly as well, which is a plus.

I was slightly reluctant before buying the Switch, as there wasn’t a large variety of games available on the platform at the time. However Nintendo has announced a few more games set to be released soon. I can’t wait to play Splatoon 2- which was so much fun when playing the live demo-, Mine Craft (who doesn’t want portable Mine Craft?), Skyrim, and Super Mario Odyssey!

At the moment I have been playing a bit too much Mario Kart- However I’ll admit I do get a little bit competitive.. But it is such a fun game, especially with friends! I have also been playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I was never a big fan of the Zelda franchise, but I’ve really been enjoying this one. It has such an open world that you can explore for hours, and the story really is very immersive. I would definitely recommend it.

I was thrilled with my first Pink Parcel back in February. If you haven’t read my review on it you can check it out here! So I decided to keep my subscription to the service, as what girl doesn’t deserve a little pick me up each month?

I received my March Pink Parcel around a week ago and was so excited to open it and see what goodies were inside. I was pleasantly surprised again with the selection of beauty bits, accessories and sweets.

As with every box you receive a top up supply on your choice of either sanitary towels or tampons. I didn’t realise how handy this actually was until the last two months since I subscribed to Pink Parcel. I think everyone can relate to the panic of not having one handy or running out completely!

The first thing that caught my eye was the cute pin from ‘Lapel Yeah’ . It says “Happy Everything”. I love the colour and think it will jazz up a jacket or bag! I’ve got a few Disney Pins on my gym bag so it will fit in perfectly.

I love having a big selection of lipsticks so I was thrilled to see a full size of Rimmel’s new ‘The Only 1’ lipstick in this months parcel. I fell in love with the colour and thought it was the right timing with Spring just around the corner. The shade I received was ‘120 You’re All Mine’ which is a gorgeous pop of pink. I tested it out and found it very pigmented and moisturising.

I feel like Pink Parcel know me too well- with last month sending me my favourite peppermint tea- as this month they included a little sachet of ‘Kneipp Bath Crystals Cold Season in Eucalyptus‘. This was perfect timing as I was on the brink of a nasty cold so this helped me feel so much better.

I’m not a coffee fan, however I wish I was as I love the concept of this next gift, as it is a coffee bag! Yes just like a tea bag but for coffee. It is by ‘London Coffee Bag’ and they specialise in gourmey coffee on the go.

I also received some lovely toiletries this month; a little sample-size of Dove’s new ‘Advanced Hair Series’ range, the Pure Care Dry Oil Shampoo, and a lovely smelling ‘Boozi Bodycare’ Cheeky Woo Woo Body Wash sample.

A little packet of the ‘Beauty Papier- Green Tea Blotthing Paper’was included in the parcel as well. I love the bright leaf print on the packaging! I’ve never actually used blotting paper as I find my skin is dry and I don’t get too much excess oil throughout the day, but I may find these useful during the summer or if I’m on holiday.

I love blog award nominations! I think they’re such a fun way to connect with other bloggers and channel a little bit of your personality into your blog. I was kindly nominated for the ‘Mystery Blogger Award’ by Fun Fashion Freedom , thank you so much!

The “Mystery Blogger Award” was started by Enigma, which is a good initiative for all those bloggers who are starting out.

I’ve nominated 5 lovely bloggers at the end of this post.

Rules:

1. Put the award logo/image on your blog.

2. List the rules.

3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.

4. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.

5. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.

6. You have to nominate 10-20 people.

7. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.

8. Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice, with one weird or funny question.

9. Share a link to your best post(s).

3 Things About Myself:

1. I’m addicted to peppermint tea!

2. I’m Scottish and Canadian- I was born in Scotland and my Mum is Canadian. I lived in Canada for several years when I was younger as well.

3. My favourite musicals have to be South Pacific or Mama Mia.

5 Questions from my nominee:

What are your future goals for your blog?

I’d love to keep writing about things that I enjoy. I hope to share more of my own recipes for baking, branch out into fitness as I’m on my own fitness journey, and write more reviews on a wider variety of beauty products.

What is the funniest incident that has ever happened with you?

This was a tough one! Probably because any funny incidents that have happened to me I try to forget because they’re so embarrassing!

Name your favourite movie.

Dirty Dancing, hands down!

What is the first thing you would do if you were a guy/girl?

Pee standing up! How efficient would that be? Hahah!

Name the colour which aptly describes you.

Probably my favourite colour, pink!

5 Questions for my nominees:

Are you a cat or a dog person?

Top 3 Netflix/TV series?

If you were stranded on a desert island, what one beauty product would you have?

Since I stopped subscribing to Birch Box a few months ago, I was on the hunt for my next subscription box. I read lots of reviews and posts about lots of different types of monthly boxes, but I just couldn’t make up my mind! I finally decided to try the Pink Parcel. I thought it would be a nice pick me up to make that time of the month a little bit better.

If you haven’t heard of Pink Parcel before, they are a period subscription box & monthly beauty box. They conveniently deliver your box a date that is closest to your period each month, and supply you with plenty of your chosen tampons or sanitary towels, as well as a little box of goodies.

Signing up to Pink Parcel is super easy. I headed over to their website, created my account and filled in a few details. I picked out whether I wanted tampons or towels and chose my favourite brand (they actually have pretty much every brand out there!). I then chose one out of three of their delivery dates that were closest to my period. My first box this month was delivered about 4 days before I was due, but its good that the dates are flexible for if you aren’t always regular.

The nice thing about the boxes (like other monthly subscription boxes) are that you don’t know what you’re going to get each month. It’s a little surprise to look forward to!

Soap’n’skin Himalayan Bath Salts– I adore anything bath related. These smell so fresh and will be perfect to soak in.

Trifle Cosmetics Buttercream Hydrating Body Lotion

Vitamasques Pomegranate Moisturing Korean Face Mask– I love sheet masks, they provide all the benefits of a relaxing face mask without the mess. I stocked up on Sephora’s masks when I was in Florida, so I can’t wait to try this one out and see how it fares.

As you can see there are lots of little treats to make Aunt Flow’s visit a bit nicer! My favourite from this month’s box has to be the Ciate Nail Polish, I love nude colours and this pale pink is perfect.

I received a good supply of towels to keep me going. They popped a good mix of liners and towels for night time as well which was nice. I also got a little velvet bag to keep in my handbag for them which is very smart. I think the best bit about signing up to Pink Parcel is not having to worry about making sure you have pads at home and knowing that you won’t run out each month.

Hello everyone! I’m so excited to share with you my favourite things from the first month of 2017. January is definitely a time for a new start, and the motivation for getting active is definitely at a high, so there is a few things in my favourites this month that are fitness related!

January started with the Bikini Body Guide 12 Week Challenge, which I am loving! It’s really getting me into a routine with fitness and making exercise a daily thing which I actually look forward to. I had the pleasure of meeting Kayla Itsines, the creator of the Bikini Body Guide, at the start of January in Glasgow at her meet and greet for her new book, the 28 Day Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Guide, she is even more gorgeous in real life (definite goals!!). I’ve been using her Sweat with Kayla App on my iPone which helps even more in following the programme. For the resistance workouts it gives you a video guide on how to perform the exercise, so you can get the correct form.

With getting more active I have come to discover muscles that I swear I never had before, and this also comes with aches and pains… To help combat this and ease achy muscles I invested in a foam roller. This has definitely changed my life! No joke! I usually do exercises with it on rest days, or just after a work out to help ease the pain the next day. I would definitely recommend looking into getting one of these. I got mine from Amazonfor only £9.99.

I got my next favourite for Christmas from my Mum & Dad. I was really getting fed up of tangled up earphones in the gym that got in the way, so I was over the moon when I got wireless bluetooth headphones.

Next up is another Christmas gift, I got this gorgeous mermaid Starbucks travel cup from my Sister. I’ve loving it in the mornings for taking a cup of hot peppermint tea into work. Definitely helps with the dark mornings!

My last favourite has featured in my blog before, the Pixi Glow Tonic. I’ve been using this once a day to help renew my dull Winter skin. It’s snuck it’s way into my daily skin care routine and I don’t think it will be leaving any time soon!

Anthony Nolan is a charity that saves the lives of people with blood cancer by matching the bone marrow (or stem cells) of their donors to patients who are in need of a transplant. As well as this, they also partake in essential research to make stem cell transplants as successful as possible.

For me, it didn’t even seem like a question whether or not I should become part of the register, and they make it so easy to become a donor as well.

If you are aged 16-30 you can become a donor. Simply answer a few questions and fill in your details online, and in a few days you will receive a saliva sampling kit, that once you complete you send back to them free of charge.

Praia da Rocha, AKA ‘The beach of rocks’, is a popular, yet peaceful, holiday resort just south of the town of Portimão, on the Algarve. I travelled here for a mini break in October with my family, for some last minute sun before the Winter set in.

We stayed at the Hotel da Rocha. A 4 star hotel overlooking the beach front. I couldn’t recommend this hotel more; all of the staff were very friendly & helpful, the food was spot on with a brilliant selection of local cuisine (which includes a lot of fresh fish!) and the rooms were modern, spacious and very comfortable! Facilities included a good sized pool, good for a refreshing dip in the mornings and a fully equipped gym which I tested out a couple of times.

Praia da Rocha has one of the largest beaches on the Portimão coastline. The golden sand is marked with large rocks and boulders wth hidden caves and that is why it is known as ‘the beach of rocks’. Even in October I managed to take a brisk dip in the Atlantic Ocean! But, if you don’t want too sandy, then you can take a stroll along the wooden boardwalk which stretches along the majority of the beach.

My family loves keeping active on holidays so we didn’t just spend our days sun seeking on the beach! Praia da Rocha and the surrounding areas are perfect for shorts strolls, hikes among the dusty paths and slightly longer walks to stretch your legs. The larger town of Portimão is just over 3km away and is full of local shops, cafes, and lovely architecture.

We decided to check out the neighbouring fishing village of Alvor one morning, so we followed the costal path along the beach, which eventually took us up along the cliffs which provided breathtaking views! When we got to Alvor we wondered along the river front lined with bars and seafood restaurants. We then wondered up the narrow cobbled lanes which led us into the old town and onto the 16th century Igreja Matriz church (fun fact: I love seeing churches while on holiday, I just enjoy the atmosphere and design of them!) which sits proudly above the village. In the evenings we would usually take short strolls along the boardwalk, or down the street to the Fort of Santa Catarina, a medieval fort which is lit up at night and gives stunning views to the coastline.

Praia da Rocha is a gorgeous resort for little breaks and longer holidays. I enjoyed every minute of my time here and would visit again to explore in a heart beat!